Thread: Russia Puts Troops In Central Region On Combat-Ready Alert After Launch Of Massive Su

Russia Puts Troops In Central Region On Combat-Ready Alert After Launch Of Massive Surprise Drill - Video

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2014 09:25 -0400

So much for the Ukraine ultimatum.
As we reported yesterday, at the same time as Ukraine president Poroshenko implemented a unilateral "ceasefire" proposal which was said to have been accepted by Russia only for Russia to roundly dismiss it saying it sees the Ukraine step an "ultimatum", alleged Ukraine gunmen shelled a border crossing on Russian territory near the town of Rostov.
What, however, made clear that no Ukraine civil war de-escalation is coming, especially not on Kiev's terms, were reports that overnight pro-Russia separatists, which Ukraine and NATO now consistently say are being reinforced by Russia, something the Kremlin is denying, retaliated in a mirror image of yesterday's shelling, attacking Ukrainian posts on the border with Russia and a military base, and tried to storm an airforce base, according to Reuters.

The fresh action came just hours after the start of a ceasefire at 10 p.m. on Friday by Ukrainian forces, ordered by President Petro Poroshenko as part of his plan to end the rebel insurgency in the east of the country.

A government forces spokesman said the separatists used mortars and sniper fire to attack Ukrainian posts at Izvareno and Uspenka on the border, wounding nine Ukrainian officers.

In other incidents, rebels with big caliber machine guns and grenade-launchers attacked a Ukrainian military position at Avdiyivka, near the main regional town of Donetsk, as well as a Ukrainian post at Kreminna.

As was clearly obvious from the beginning, there go any attempts at de-escalation.
But what is most surprising, is what happened next.
As Interfax reported a few hours ago, cited by Voice of Russia, Putin once again punked everyone, and certainly western ambitions for "peace" on its terms, when over 65,000 military servicemen and about 5,500 items of weapons and military hardware were unleashed in the latest surprise snap military drill in Russia, or as Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff of the Russian armed forces called it an ongoing comprehensive surprise combat readiness test of the Russian Central Military District forces.
"Over 65,000 troops, about 5,500 weapon units and vehicles, over 180 planes, and about 60 helicopters will be involved in the test," Gerasimov said at a conference with the Russian Defense Ministry command staff on Saturday." The maneuvers are designed to test the training level of the troops in performing their duties through shooting practice, control exercises, the use of aircraft and airborne drops, Gerasimov said, Interfax reports.

RT further reports that all Russian forces in Siberia, the Urals and beyond have been put on combat-ready alert, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said after President Putin ordered surprise drills.
Russia’s troops in the Central Military District have been put on alert to verify troops’ combat-readiness during massive war games of all branches of the armed forces. The exercises involve the relocation of military personnel and hardware, firing training and complex inspections.
“In accordance with president’s order, today starting from 11:00 Moscow time [07:00 GMT] all troops of the Central Military District have been placed in a state of full combat readiness," Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at staff meeting.
The drills will last for a week, from June 21 through 28, Shoigu said.
Up to 65,000 troops, along with 5,500 military vehicles, 180 airplanes and 60 helicopters will participate in the drills, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said, Interfax reported.

During the first 24 hours, the troops’ readiness for immediate deployment on a combat mission will be checked.
After that, military units will switch to tactical training, marching in battle formation to firing ranges for practice, Shoigu said.
Air Force units in the district will relocate planes to operational airfields to check their readiness for action in new locations. In particular, the 98th Airborne Division will be relocated from the Ivanovo Region of the Volga Federal District to the Urals for paratrooper jump exercises at the Chebarkul firing range. The minister specifically ordered units to avoid any possible damage to civilian installations and infrastructure during the military drills, and to ensure the safety of military personnel, arms and hardware.
The June 21-28 drill is the second stage of general exercises in the Central Military District, Shoigu said. A special commission has already verified the general situation in the district and now the war games will give the picture of combat readiness of the troops stationed on a swathe of huge territory from the Volga River through the Urals Mountains to Siberia, and from the Kara Sea in the Arctic to the steppe on Russia’s southern border with Kazakhstan.
Shoigu said that the 28th and 35th Motorized Brigades began the training June 20, when both units were put on alert ahead of the rest of the military forces in the region.
The Russian army has staged a number of military drills this year. The most recent exercises took place less than a fortnight ago, when on June 10 the Russian military launched drills by its assault forces in the enclave of Kaliningrad in answer to the double war games being conducted by joint NATO forces on the territory of the three Baltic States.
* * *
Ukraine was not happy: the country's foreign ministry promptly said that military activity with unclear task near Ukrainian border “doesn’t help to normalize the situation” and to implement peaceful initiatives. It added that the concentration of Russian armed forces near Ukrainian border causes "special concern in light of numerous” incidents of supply of weapons to militants in Luhansk and Donetsk regions from Russian territories."
Needless to say, Putin couldn't care less about the optics of the surprise drill, or if Ukraine's feelings were hurt. Because just like that, whatever strategy the top brass from the Pentagon, CIA and to a lesser extent, Kiev, were planning on implementing has gone up in flame. Because what the drill really is, is a pretext for Russia to relocate troops on its territory under the watchful eye of countless US spy satellites.
So the next time NATO or Kerry slams Putin for once again piling troops at location X, Russia now has a 1 week alibi: "it was all just part of the drill."
A video of today's surprise military drill.



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...ive-surprise-d

Russia Puts Troops on Alert as U.S. Broadens Sanctions

By With assistance from Terry Atlas and Alex Wayne Jun 21, 2014 3:09 PM ET 513 Comments

Photographer: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko.

Russian President Vladimir Putin backed a cease-fire in Ukraine declared by that country’s new leader, calling for all sides to halt military activities even as he put more than 65,000 troops on combat alert.
The week-long truce that Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko called for yesterday shouldn’t be an ultimatum and won’t be “viable or realistic” without steps toward starting negotiations on the disputes in the region, Putin said in an e-mailed statement issued late today by the Kremlin.
His statement came after Russia ordered troops to take part in a drill after Poroshenko moved to quell violence in eastern Ukraine. The plan should be used to start “constructive” talks on achieving political compromise, Putin said.
The Russian drill is the biggest since the country annexed the Black Sea Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March. The U.S. has accused the government in Moscow of aiding pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s eastern regions and this week imposed sanctions on people linked to the insurgency.
The dispute is flaring as American and European officials warn that more painful penalties affecting Russia’s access to financial markets, technology and military hardware may come as early as next week if Putin refuses to curb tensions. North Atlantic Treaty Organization and U.S. officials have said this week that Russia was renewing its military buildup near the Ukrainian border.
Russia had originally dismissed Ukraine’s declaration of the cease-fire as an “ultimatum,” spurring officials from the European Union and Germany today to call again on Putin to support the peace plan.

Canada Sanctions

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said today his country would impose economic sanctions and travel bans against 11 people -- Vladimir Shamanov, the commander of the Russian Airborne Troops, and 10 Ukrainian militia and rebel government leaders. Feodosia Enterprise, a Crimea-based oil company, also is subject to the sanctions, Harper said.
Putin put troops in Russia’s central military region on full combat alert and ordered them to take part in a test of military readiness that is to last through June 28 and will also involve 5,500 pieces of military equipment, Vladimir Anikin, a spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, said by phone.
In Kiev, the Foreign Ministry denounced Russia’s military activity, saying it “does not help to normalize the situation in Ukraine and to implement peaceful initiatives by the Ukrainian authorities,” according to an e-mailed statement.

Russian Concerns

The statement was issued before Putin said he backed the cease-fire.
While Ukraine seeks a peaceful solution to the conflict, its military is ready to act “adequately” if the cease-fire is violated, Poroshenko said today on his website prior to Putin’s latest statement. The peace plan has “powerful support” from European and U.S. leaders, he said.
Ukraine called on all fighters to lay down arms, halting the offensive against rebels from 10 p.m. yesterday until 10 a.m. on June 27, according to the president’s website.
Pro-Russian militants expressed skepticism the truce will be implemented, as fighting continued in at least seven different places. Those skirmishes left nine border troops and one Russian customs official wounded, and an unspecified number of militants killed, Ukrainian authorities said today.

Obama Call

U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday spoke by phone with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, agreeing in separate conversations that the U.S. and European Union would “impose costs” on Russia if it doesn’t work to de-escalate the situation, the White House said in an e-mailed statement.
The U.S. “will continue to take action to hold accountable those persons engaged in efforts to destabilize Crimea and eastern Ukraine,” Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in a statement. “These individuals have all contributed to attempts to illegally undermine the legitimate government.”
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned seven individuals, including the acting governor of Sevastopol in Crimea and separatist leaders in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Broader measures are being readied against the finance, defense and technology industries, two U.S. officials said.

EU Meeting

The U.S. is levying penalties for the first time since April 28, when it sanctioned people and companies linked to Putin’s inner circle. Russia risks further measures when EU leaders meet next week unless it helps end the unrest to support an emerging peace plan, Merkel said yesterday.
European diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said consensus has emerged within the 28-member group during the last week that tougher sanctions may be warranted when EU leaders meet June 26-27 in Brussels if Putin fails to abide by earlier pledges.
“All parties” will need to “actively promote” the implementation of the peace plan, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a news conference in Tallinn today before Putin’s latest statement. “We in particular call on the Russian Federation to use all its influence to this end and to support this plan publicly and through concrete actions.”

15-Point Plan

Poroshenko’s 15-point peace plan includes early parliamentary and local elections, job creation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine’s east and freeing all seized buildings and abducted people, according to the statement.
Before the cease-fire can be implemented, Ukraine must reassert control over its border with Russia, across which fighters have crossed, according to Poroshenko.
Russia is increasing security because it’s concerned about the situation on the border, though it’s not building up troop levels, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign-policy aide, said yesterday.
The separatists are willing to consider the plan, according to Andrei Purgin, a deputy premier of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic.
“If we see a true cease-fire, we may stop our actions as well,” he said by phone. “But I think there will be no cease-fire. In practice these statements are only political.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...sanctions.html

UK Scrambles 7 Fighter Jets To Intercept Russian Aircraft

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/21/2014 16:01 -0400

Britain's Ministry of Defence said this week it had scrambled Typhoon fighter jets after four separate groups of aircraft were detected in international airspace near the Baltics by NATO air defenses. The British jets intercepted seven Russian military aircraft that, as Reuters reports, did not file a flight plan and did not use their transponders, making them invisible to civilian air traffic control and a safety hazard to commercial air traffic. "The Russian aircraft were monitored by the RAF Typhoons and escorted on their way," noted the ministry. This follows an event last Thursday when Latvia said NATO fighters had scrambled a record four times after a total of 16 Russian military planes were spotted close to the country’s air space.

As Reuters reports,

Britain said on Wednesday it had scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to intercept seven Russian military aircraft flying near the Baltic states, as tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine remained high.

A NATO official said the Russian aircraft were armed and in the vicinity of NATO airspace.

They did not file a flight plan and did not use their transponders, making them invisible to civilian air traffic control and a safety hazard to commercial air traffic, which was why NATO had intercepted them, he said.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday it had launched the Typhoons on Tuesday after four separate groups of aircraft were detected in international airspace near the Baltics by NATO air defences.

It said the aircraft had been identified as a Russian Tupolev Tu-22 bomber, four Sukhoi Su-27 fighters, one Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft, and an Antonov An-26 transport aircraft.

They appeared to be carrying out routine training, it said.

"The Russian aircraft were monitored by the RAF Typhoons and escorted on their way," the ministry said in a statement.

NATO has been building its forces ever since the troubles began...

The alliance last month tripled the number of fighter jets based in the Baltics as part of measures to beef up its defences in eastern Europe following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Britain contributed four Typhoons to the operation.

And this is not the first time...

NATO planes patrolling the Baltics have scrambled repeatedly in the last week in response to sightings of Russian military aircraft.

Last Thursday, Latvia said NATO fighters had scrambled a record four times after a total of 16 Russian military planes were spotted close to the country’s air space.

Local news agency BNS quoted Latvia's Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma on Monday as saying that the increased activity by Russian military planes was an "intimidation tactic" and a demonstration of power by Russia. "The same tactics are used also in Ukraine and elsewhere," she said.

The incidents may have been connected to military exercises in Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad that Moscow said last week it was holding in response to drills by NATO allies in parts of eastern Europe.

But with stocks at record highs (and expected volatility at record lows), we are sure this is nothing to worry about - go back to the World Cup.


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...ssian-aircraft

http://www.alipac.us/f19/russia-chin...7/#post1447893